Psalm 62, like most of the Psalms from Psalm 52 onwards (apart from Psalm 60), was written at a time when David was facing persecution. There were two occasions when David was being persecuted. In Psalm 61, the occasion was probably his persecution in the hand of his son Absalom, but the rest were probably written during the times he was pursued by Saul and he had to hid in the caves of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1ff) and Engedi (1 Sam 24:1ff).

We don’t really know when Psalm 62 was written. But the occasion and location at which it was written is not as important, I believe as the content of the Psalm and how it fits into the experience and thought of the Greater David in His days of persecution. This Psalm, like all the others, I believe, is written in the Spirit of Christ to give us a glimpse of the thoughts and sufferings of our Lord on our behalf. “We have here,” as Andrew Bonar, puts it, “the soul of the Righteous One—Christ and His members—resorting to Jehovah while iniquity surrounds them, and persecution tries them.”

Personally, I think this Psalm would fit very well with the time after our Lord was arrested and He was being tried before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate. We may entitle this Psalm, “The Righteous One upon the Rock, Unmoved by Blasts of Threats.”

 This Psalm can be divided into three stanzas of 4 verses each according to the two ‘selahs’ in verse 4 and 8. It is difficult to distinguish the theme of each of these paragraphs in a meaningful way. But we may entitle the first stanza, as “He is my Rock and my Salvation,” the second stanza as “He is my Expectation and my Glory,” and the third stanza as “He is my Strength and my Reward.”

1. He is my Rock &
my Salvation

¹  Truly my soul waiteth upon God…

As king David waited upon God when he was under persecution so our Lord waited upon His Father when His enemies were breathing out threats against Him during His trials.

What is it to wait upon God? It is to rest in Him and trust that He will do what is right in answer to prayer. It is not about inactivity. It is about peace and calm in the soul. “My soul waiteth upon God” says our Lord. The word rendered ‘waiteth’ here literally means ‘silence’ (hY:miWD). In Psalm 39:2, we read “I was dumb with silence, I held my peace.” The word rendered ‘with silence’ and the word ‘waiteth’ is the same word.

Remember how our Lord largely did not reply to the charges against Him. Indeed we are told that before Pilate, “he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly” (Mt 27:15) “A sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa 53:7).

Our Lord had peace and calm in His heart and was committing all things to the Father though He was silent before man. He was waiting upon the Father in the midst of the assaults upon His soul.

But on what basis was He able to wait?

^1b from him cometh my salvation. ² He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Our Lord would wait upon the Father because He knew that deliverance must come from Him. He is His rock and salvation and defence. He could cling on to His Father like a man threatened by a gale could cling on to a sturdy rock. He is His safety.

But more than that He knew the Father would deliver in His time, and His Father would defend Him. He is like a fortress to protect Him from anything outside His plan. Though it is human to fear, our Lord need not worry what man could do to Him. His Father was in control. So He would not be greatly moved or shaken.

And so instead of taking matters into His own hands, which He could, our Lord waited upon the Father, and implicitly rebuked His tormentors:

³ How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. ⁴ They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.  

Our Lord is the God-Man. Those who persecuted Him were not persecuting an ordinary man. God would see to it that vengeance was exacted on them. They have raised themselves up and abused their power against the Son of Man. They spoke lies about Him. They consulted not so that they might treat Him fairly. They consulted to “cast him down from his excellency.” They smeared his reputation, they disregarded His position of excellency as the Son of God.

They blessed Him with their mouths, but cursed Him inwardly. A few days before the multitude were singing, “Hosanna to the son of David.” But now they are crying, “Away with Him. Crucify Him.” So Pilate pronounced Him innocent but executed Him anyway.

Those who remain unrepentant will face the judgement of God. Who can stand before the wrath of God? They would be slain. They would be cast down like a tilting wall and a tottering fence. When they persecute the Lord, they are all pride, but when they face the avenger of our Lord’s blood, they cannot even stand by themselves. A little push and they would crash into everlasting death.

Beloved brethren and children, wait upon the Father as our Lord did. He is our rock and our salvation. He is our defense and our vindicator.

But He is also our expectation of glory even as our Lord expresses in the second stanza of this Psalm.

2. He is my Expectation
& my Glory

⁵ My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. ⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. ⁷ In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

In times when we face severe assaults upon our souls, when there is no one to sympathise with us or to comfort us, one of the things we must do is to talk to ourselves.

What did our Lord say to His own soul? He reminds Himself of who the Father is to Him. He is His Rock, His Salvation and His Defence. And not only that, He is also His Expectation, His Glory, His Strength, and His Refuge.

·  “My expectation is from him” (v. 5). He is my expectation. While I cannot expect much from man, I can expect much from Him, for He is a prayer-hearing God. Therefore I will wait upon Him.

·  He is “my rock” (v. 6). I will cling on to Him for safety.

·  He is “my salvation” (v. 6). I will trust Him to deliver me.

·  He is “my defence” (v. 6). He is my fortress. I will hide in Him. I will not be shaken. He is my security.

·  He is “my glory” (v. 7). My honour is in His hand. He will vindicate me.

·  He “is the rock of my strength.” I.e. He is the rock upon which I derive my strength. He is my strength.

·  He is “my refuge.” I can hide in Him when my heart is overwhelmed.

What shall we do in the face of such overwhelming assurances?

⁸ Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

If God is so great and so good to us, let us trust in Him at all times, through thick and thin, through peace and war. Let us learn to pour out our hearts to Him and hide in Him.

Moreover, let us recognise as our Psalm would remind us, that He is our reward.

3. He is my King
& my Reward.

Man is constantly tempted to look to man to seek riches, honour and approval. If they cannot gain riches, honour and approval by looking to the rich and powerful, they might attempt oppression to gain respect and approval, and robbery to gain riches.

But to do so is foolishness, for as our Lord warns us “men of low degree are vanity.” I.e. those who are poor and have no honour in society are nothing. They are as good as a puff of steam that appears for a moment and then disappears. 

What about men of high degree? Well, they are a lie. They are lighter than vanity! When you weigh them on a balance, vanity tips the scale!

How foolish it is then to seek honour and riches from man. Those who put their trust in the rich and powerful are trusting in a lie. Those who fear them are fearing a lie. Those who oppress the poor and the weak to gain honour and riches are more insignificant than steam in the eyes of God.

But God is almighty. He is to be trusted, to be feared and to be loved.

¹¹ God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.  ¹² Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

God has spoken once, twice must we hear—not only because we have two ears, but because it is so important. We must hear it with the ears of our body. More importantly we must hear it with the ears of our soul.

Power and authority belongs to God. All things come to pass according to His sovereign power. But mercy and love also belongs to God.

What does this means? This means that He will protect His people, and He will vindicate them. He will see to it that justice is done. Those who are persecuted for His sake will be handsomely rewarded. Those who persecute His saints will be severely punished, for such as persecute the saints, persecute Christ.

God’s people therefore need not fear what man can do to them. God’s people need not be overwhelmed by the devices of man.

Conclusion

Beloved brethren and children, as our Lord waited on the Father, so we too can wait upon Him. Let us learn to rest in Him and wait upon Him at all times. He is our expectation, our rock, our salvation, our defence, our glory, our strength, refuge, our reward and our king. Amen.

—JJ Lim